All about Thor

He was in a litter of six puppies, three girls and three boys. You can see his pedigree by clicking here.

When I was researching getting a dog I knew from the beginning that I wanted a boy so that narrows my selection from this breeder down to three. At 5 weeks I went to pick out a pup from the ones available. Joy Johns the breeder brought the three boys out to a small pen for me to have a look. One of the pups was being held back because he did not react well to the first round of shots they all got.

All three had distinct racoon masks, the original pup I picked up had a distinctive white slash down his forehead between his eyes and he was the largest of the boys. While I was holding this pup, The smallest pup was sitting very pretty looking up at me apparently wondering why he was sitting there all alone. Something told me that he was the one I was really supposed to be with so I changed my mind and swapped them.

I had never owned a dog before in my life, I had always lived in an apartment and didn't like the idea of having an active dog in an apartment environment. I knew while I was researching what breed would be my first dog when I got my house that it would be a Nordic breed. I love being outside in the winter and I needed a breed that could stand being out in the cold for long stretches. Also being Nordic, the dog would need a Nordic name and I am interested in mythology so the search was on for a Nordic mythological and majestic sounding name.

A few weeks before I was supposed to get Thor, I ruptured a disk in my back which pinched my Sciatica nerve causing unbelievable pain. I had not moved in to the house yet and had not got Thor yet. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to continue working for a living the pain was unbelievable. Taking a breath required huge amounts of pain killer.

I did a lot of investigating on how to resolve the problem and found that there was barely better than a 50/50 chance that surgery could solve the problem and even if it did, I would be laid up for weeks or months while I healed. I decided to take a chance on physiotherapy and chiropractic. I was so determined to get my house and my dog that I would do anything I could.

I found a young, eager chiropractor that was able to get me to at least stand upright and walk with only a minor amount of pain. I hoped that with this success I could get better to be able to do justice to have a Siberian Husky so pressed ahead and picked Thor up from the breeder. I hoped that between his need for activity and walks, and my need for physiotherapy and movement that we could at least come to a compromise.

Little by little as Thor grew up he began to be able to go for longer walks and I was able to tolerate longer walks. By the time Thor was old enough to go for really long walks, I was ready for them as well. My physiotherapist abandoned me when he found out I was going to see a chiropractor as well as forcing myself to go for walks with my puppy instead of laying in bed. My chiropractor always said he could not cure the problem, but was willing to do what he could for me to reduce the pain enough for me to take my dog for a walk around the block and that was the goal.

I owe a lot to Thor, by having him I am a fully functional person. Working for a living instead of existing on long term benefits laying in a bed screwed up on pain killers. I have not taken pain killers continuously for my blown disk and pinched nerve for almost 10 years and I owe it all to the need to be mobile to keep my Siberian Husky Thor happy. To see me now you would never know I have a problem, I have never had surgery. I do still feel a pinch of pain every once in a while I have have constant numbness down my right leg but I am completely mobile.

At our peak Thor, Loki and I would easily walk 10 Kilometers and hardly notice. To this day I still don't take the ability of walking for granted. I do it whenever I can. Doesn't sound like much until you can't do it.

First day home at 9 weeks. No collar or leash, that would soon change. He didn't earn the nickname "Scooter" for nothing. He wasn't big on being alone though and that became clearer as the weeks and months went by.

Thor looks Black and White but his Mom was a cinnamon/red and white colour. It does show in Thor. He has a big rusty spot on his belly that is always there. His head and neck area are always Black and White but he is a sun-worshiper and as the fur on his body sunburns, it turns a dark chocolate brown. It's really hard to see unless you see him in the sun but his fur does change colour the more it is exposed to the sun. As you will see below, the older he got his mask disappeared but he has an amazing slash of black down his nose and under his eyes. His markings are gorgeous, his overall look is very cute and he has always got a lot of attention from everyone.

What an energetic and happy pup. Except for being left alone during the work-day, he was an excellent puppy and always friendly with other people, kids and dogs.

He did have a very strong desire to hunt small, furry, fast mammals like squirrels, chipmunks and cats.

These pictures around 6 months of age.

Thor is a very, very social guy. He didn't like being left alone all day while I was at work. It became very clear that he needed someone to keep him company while the house was empty.

His past time became destroying toys. Even tennis balls were no match, the fuzz was shredded completely and the ball broken in half in no time.

I never found a toy that could stand up to Thor when he decided to go at it.

These pictures were taken at about 11 months of age. It was at this time that I started contacting Siberian breeders again to find a buddy for Thor. See Loki's story here.

Once I got Loki, the two of them were completely inseparable and the next 11 years are a story about the two of them together. Click here to check on them together.

Once Loki died I was very worried that Thor would not be able to do well on his own but he has been doing very well to this point. I am creating this webpage 5 months after Loki's death and Thor has been fine. My work situation has changed in that Thor is not left alone nearly as long as he was at the beginning and I think that helps a lot along with his maturity.

After all this time he's still an extraordinary dog. After what we went through with Loki, I decided in May of 2007 for his 12th birthday annual checkup to have a nose to tail health check done so that we would know what a normal, healthy Thor was.

The X-Rays showed a shadow or bulge on his heart. Two months later we did another set of X-Rays to see if this was part of his heart or was something else that was growing next to his heart. The second set of X-Rays appeared to show that the bulge was about 20% larger. Our Veterinarian Dr. Jody Mokler arranged for me to take Thor to a Veterinary Cardiologist Specialist to be checked out. A full Ultrasound was done along with a blood pressure test. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with the heart at all other than it was taller and thinner than a normal canine heart. Thor being the smallest in the litter, he is overall small for the breed standard and has a very narrow rib cage compared to other Siberians including Loki.

After not finding anything in the Ultrasound, a third set of X-Rays were done and the bulge/shadow that had appeared to be in or near his Pulmonary Artery can now not be seen. No explanation as to what it is or was but other than what was seen in the X-Ray, Thor never showed any symptom of anything being wrong. He always had tons of energy and drove me nuts to go out for walks. The only thing the X-Rays do show is a degenerating right hip which does appear to bother him when we go for longish walks but he still amazes almost everyone he meets who thinks he's a puppy only to find out he's over 12 years old.

What a remarkable dog. Am I ever glad I changed my mind back in 1995 when the litter was 5 weeks old and picked the little pup sitting in the pen at the breeders. I would have been lost without him.

Thor has always been a sun-worshiper any time of year even with all that fur and no matter how hot it is.

As I was writing this web page out on the picnic table, Thor was laying in the sun sound asleep on August 19th 2007.

He's done the same thing in both +40 and -40 degree Celsius weather with the sun beating down on him.

What a dog!

All about Toriloka's Legend of Thor